21 Haziran 2017 Çarşamba

Here only follows a brief overview regarding new research projects in the
context of Crimean Tatar studies in Germany. The recent situation characterized
by difficulties of equal access to resources. Neither Crimean scientists from
the Crimea have the opportunity to research freely in Germany, Ukraine and
Russia, nor do German colleagues have access to the Crimea. The colleagues from
the Crimea must decide either to do research in Russia or in Ukraine. If they
travel to Germany, they are undesirable in the Ukraine when they enter EU by
the Russian visa, and when they travel westwards via the mainland Ukraine, they
get trouble with Russia. An example can illustrate in small what juridical
difficulties one has to face besides the problems just described concerning
logistics and technology: When I stated at a conference in Istanbul in 2015,
that we wanted to cooperate with Crimean institutions, I earned boisterous
criticism and scornful remarks by Ukrainian scientists. As soon as our
institute would enter into cooperations with institutes in the Crimea, I would
be included on a blacklist of Ukraine[2].
Another example is certainly the instrumentalisation of the Eurovision Song
Contest, both last year after the victory of the Crimean Tatar singer Jamala
and this year with the deliberate nomination of Yuliya Samoylova[3].
To avoid such difficulties and still be able to carry out common projects, ways
such as WeTransfer, Skype, e-mail and other Internet-based communication
platforms are the adequate corridors that we need to use, beyond the political
issues such as how the current status Quo of Crimea is to evaluate. This does
not mean that we scientists in Germany, for example, have no opinion on the
current situation[4]. But it
is most likely to help our common research object if we are looking for ways to
collaborate together, rather than analyzing or changing geopolitical
circumstances. Instead of trying to analyze evaluations with very little
historical distance, which protagonist did what, when and why, I would like to
call my approach here solidary disregardful pragmatism: In solidarity with the
Crimean Tartar colleagues, ignoring the new meta level of power structures,
pragmatically focused on Crimean Tatar research objects[5].

Therefore, here will be presented briefly some projects in context of
Crimean Tatar studies in Germany, which are currently under construction.
First, an Internet toponymy platform. Secondly, a regional initiative on
onomastics and biography work. Third, planned research projects. Fourth, current
exhibitions, conferences, publications

1) The Internet toponymy platform "Crimean Native Names".
Our colleague Roman Alieiev[6]
and his friends from the initiative "Qırımlı"[7]
in Germany have done a fantastic job and made a collection of more than 2900
villages and cities, around 600 names of valleys, rivers, lakes and related
historical facts[8]. His
motivation and experience Alieiev described as following: “Most of people
either in Crimea or in Germany know nothing about true history of Crimea and
its culture. As I figured out while creating the map I am not an exception”. On
their web map one can find, besides the Russian and Ukrainian names, the
current or former Crimean Tatar or Turkic names. These include, for example,
all the mosques of the Crimea as well as micro-toponyms such as
mausoleums/türbe, springs/fountains, cemeteries, rivers, bays, historical
buildings and mountains. In addition, one can also get to know travel routes
and travelers diaries of travelers of the last centuries, which have researched
the northern Black Sea and the Crimea. The map is provided by the different
layers like "Crimean Native Names on the Territory of Qirim Yurt" one
and two as well as with a layer for "Other Crimean Historic Names"
which depicts historic names used by Crimeans for "Qırım Yurt"[9].

2. issue: Regional platform Mirror of Names. Under this label
"Namen-Spiegel" (isim aynası), we offer events in Saxony-Anhalt in
various formats, where people are dealing with history through onomastics,
toponymical issues, biographies and name changes. For this purpose, the local
German population, together with migrants, uses the Internet platform described
above, as well as books, anecdotes, their own life-ways and tales of
experiences, encouragement, success and suffering stories. We therefore take
instruments from science and approach the population to promote understanding
and integration in our society. We invite Crimean musicians, poets and scholars
to present their work, their biography and their names, the names of their families,
the names of their places of origin, stories related to their new homes, and
the names of their places of yearning. Beside the effect of discovering
interesting stories and supporting tolerance and common understanding the
German people learn much about Crimean Tatar culture and history.

The project is sponsored by the German Ministry of the Interior in the
program "Living Democracy" and is a cooperation between the ICATAT
and the "Qirimli" initiative with the Association for the Cultural
Education of Children and Young People in Saxony-Anhalt.

3. issue.At the University
Magdeburg named Otto von Guericke will start in September 2017 a young Crimean
Tatar woman, collaborator of ICATAT, a PhD-project concerning Crimean Tatar
movement in recent situation. Our colleague Dzhemile Umerova-Ibragimova[10]
has moved with her family from the Crimea to Kharkiv and now lives in
Magdeburg. In the next years, she will write her dissertation on the following
topics: Crimean Tatar migration and migratory movements since 2014 in Ukraine
and outside Ukraine. Potentials and losses of artistic skills, scientific
knowhow. Possibilities of consolidation and focusing of forces for the
maintenance, networking and strengthening of Crimean Tatar communities in the
mainland Ukraine, at Crimea and in the disapora (example Germany). The work
moves between the fields of sociology, Turkology, history and migration
research. Our institute together with the associaton “Tatarlar Deutschland”[11]
is supporting this project by organizing housing, travel grants, connecting
publishing houses and relevant institutes in other cities of Germany.

Another PhD-project of another Crimean Tatar young woman will deal with the
history of the Crimean Tatar Association of Germany[12],
who was the first official Association of Muslims in Western Germany after the
Second World War at all. The founders of this association were former members
of Crimean Tatar military legions of the German Wehrmacht in Second World War,
whom were able to remain in Germany and were not delivered to the Soviet
Gulags. There are only a few living old citizens and our colleague would like
to take advantage of the limited time available for interviews. The association
decided last year to dissolve, because the second to fourth generation of
Crimean Tatar people from this time in Germany is now completely integrated or
assimilated. It is therefore necessary to document, publish and archive the
unique and symptomatic history of the association and its protagonists[13].

4. issue: New
publications, exhibitions

As a cooperation of the ICATAT with the Center for Islamic Law at the
University of Nuremberg and the Eastern Europe Institute of the University of
Vienna, was a collection volume on Crimean Tatar history published, which
appears in german language in june 2017[14].
This anthology contains articles, which were written in an elaborate
double-blind-peer-review-method. This means that the quality standard of the
texts is highly and neutrally assessed. Authors are for instance Prof. Dr.
Kerstin Jobst, Prof. Dr. Augustinowicz, Dr. Zaur Gasimov, Dr. Mieste
Hotopp-Riecke, Prof. Dr. Andreas Kappeler and other colleagues. We also try to
send copies to the Crimea to the Gasprinski Library and to the KIPU-Library.
However, the sending of mail packages from Western Europe to the Crimea alone
is a problem that is probably unique in Europe right now[15].
Already in the inventory of these libraries would have to be my last book:
"The construction of the education system of the Crimean Tatars after the
return from the deportation 1990-2005"[16].

Currently, the Museum of Islamic cultures in the Qul Sharif Mosque in Kazan
is showing our exhibition from Germany under the title "Islam in
Brandenburg-Prussia / 600 years of Tataric-German cultural contacts". This
is a cooperation between the Brandenburg-Prussia-Museum, the ICATAT and the
Mardshany-Institute for History of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of
Tatarstan. I think because everyone knows what efforts it is necessary to
initiate and carry out such a project and, of course, because the theme of the
exhibition is unique - both in Germany and in Russia - this joint venture
project has received an immense media response. From regional radio stations to
Tatarian and German television as well as largest German daily newspapers
reports about this exhibition, which was also planed for the Crimea, were
published[17]. In
this exhibition, not only are exhibits on Islam in general displayed in
Germany, but many Crimean Tatar and Volga-Tatar exhibits from German archives were
sent to Tatarstan. For legal reasons, a show of the exhibition in the Crimea is
unfortunately not possible at the moment. Theexhibitionisopenuntil 24 July 2017.

Abstract. The article presents briefly some recent and upcoming projects in context of Crimean Tatar studies in Germany, which are currently under construction. First, an Internet toponymical platform. Secondly, a regional initiative on onomastics and biography work. Third, planned research projects/dissertations. Fourth, current exhibitions, conferences, publications.

[2] The „Forum for reformers, experts and analysts“
conducted the conference "Crimea in the context of security of the Black
Sea Region: Problems and Prospects", 03 - November 4th, 2015, Istanbul,
LARESPARK Hotel Istanbul/Taksim, Organized by the Konrad-Adenauer -Foundation
and the Center of political analyses and forcasting "Crimea".

[4]The German Turkologists, Orientalists, and Islamic
scholars have always positioned themselves clearly, yet have not left the
professional cooperation with their colleagues in Russia, because they differ
between the level of politics and the level of science. See for instance the
appeal “Friedenssicherung statt Expansionsbelohnung” (Peace keeping instead
reward of expansion), there more than 100 academics signed for a clear,
stringent policy against the urge of Russia for expansion, for peacekeeping and
cooperation between East and West (11 december 2014, under URL:
http://www.zeit.de/politik/2014-12/aufruf-friedenssicherung-statt-expansionsbelohnung).
See also the appeal „Wir sind in Sorge! Mыбеспокоимся! Endişeliyiz!“ (We are concerned) stated by the Society for Eastern Europe Advancement, ICATAT and Tatar
associations of Germany (under URL: https://qirimdialog.wordpress.com/2014/02/28/sorge/).

[5]From a position of apparent neutrality, such as colleague
Richat Sabitov in Crimean Review No.1, from the safe perspective of France,
such an analysis might succeed. However, this fails by confusing cause and
effect, or ignore phenomena such as hybrid warfare, regardless of whether it is
called para-diplomacy or desperate help attempts., see: Sabitov, Richat:
Paradiplomatic activity of Tatarstan during Ukrainian crises In: Crimean
Historical Review, № 1, Kazan/Bakhtshisaray: Shigabutdin Marjani Institute of
History of Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan, 2014, pp. 68-76.

[6] Expert for computer science and telecommunications
engineering, currently writing his dissertation at Volkswagen-Company,
Wolfsburg, Germany.

[7]The "Initiative Qırımlı" was founded by young
Crimean Tatar academics in Germany in 2015 as a network for the exploration,
publication and preservation of Crimean culture and history. The initiative
group is independent and has nothing to do with the "Association of the
Crimean Tatars in Germany" (Bavaria) or the "Solidarity and cultural
center of the Crimean Tatars in Western-Europe" (Gießen, Hessen-county).

[8] See also the report of Elmaz Yunusova from
"Crimean Tatars"-Chanel owned by https://www.crimeantatars.club/:
"On-line Crimea Map with Crimean Tatar Toponyms Created in Germany",
posted under URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBOIfv0LV2Q (22.5.2017).

[10] Former collaborator of the United nations
Developement Program (UNDP) at Crimean Peninsula and Ukraine, associated with
ICATAT-Institute since seven years.

[11]"Tatarlar Deutschland" is a not-for-profit
organization officially registered in Berlin under German law, headed by Venera
Vagizova-Gerasimov and Bari Dianov. It acts as the umbrella organization of
Tatarian clubs and groups from all over Germany and organizes the Sabantui
Teprec Festival every year, this year for the first time in Magdeburg, see URL:
http://www.tatarlar-deutschland.de/ (22.5.2017).

[15] See directive of German Mail Service „Concerning
sanction Russia“ under URL:
https://www.deutschepost.de/content/dam/dpag/html/briefe_ins_ausland/Merkblatt_Sanktionen_Russland_Dez_2014.pdf
(2.6.2017) and International Parcel Service Germany DHL („Due to the current
situation in Ukraine packets and parcels at the time can not deliver to the
Crimean peninsula as well as to the cities of Lugansk and Donetsk and its
surrounding areas (postal code 83000-87999 & 91000-99999).“) under URL:
https://www.dhl.de/de/privatkunden/pakete-versenden/weltweit-versenden/ laenderseiten/ukraine.html
(17.5.2017).

[17] See article „From Germany to Tatarstan: Exhibition on
600 years of German-Tatar cultural history and Islam in Brandenburg-Prussia“
under URL www.icatat.de as well as the media-review under URL:
https://icatat.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/review.pdf (9.6.2017).